Modified l furniture structure

ABSTRACT

A generally L-shaped element, a plurality of which can be assembled to form a table, chair, sofa, or like article of furniture. Uniformly positioned holes in each element and rods which extend through the holes to retain the elements in a unitary assembly. L-shaped elements so formed that they can be assembled in numerous different configurations. An article of furniture that can be disassembled for transport.

United States Patent [1 1 Lupinsky MODIFIED L FURNITURE STRUCTURE [76]Inventor: Pesach Lupinsky,2l1l Ashby Avenue, Apt. N0. 1, Berkeley,Calif. 94705 [22] Filed: Dec. 20, I971 [2]] App]. No.: 209,916

[52] U.S. Cl 297/445, 297/419, 297/443,

[5 1] Int. Cl A47c 7/54, A47c 7/20 [58] Field of Search 297/118, 232,244, 297/248, 440, 445-449 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,152,836 10/1964 Swan ..297/445 3,131,970 5/1964 McGregonI 297/445 [1113,743,353 1 July 3, 1973 OTHER PUBLICATIONS I-Iorne Craftsman Magz.,May-June 1950, pp. 1 l to 13.

Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg Attorney-Thomas 1-]. Olson 7] ABSTRACTA generally L-shaped element, a plurality of which can be assembled toform a table, chair, sofa, or like article of furniture. Uniformlypositioned holes in each element and rods which extend through the holesto retain the elements in a unitary assembly. L-shaped elements soformed that they can be assembled in numerous different configurations.An article of furniture that can be disassembled for transport.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures MODIFIED L FURNITURE STRUCTURE Thisinvention relates to an article of furniture and more specifically to anindividual structural member, an identical plurality of which can becombined to form the article of furniture.

The basic structural element according to the present invention is ofgenerally L-shaped form which is defined by a vertical plate and ahorizontal plate rigid with and generally perpendicular to one another.The upper and lower surface of the horizontal plate are symmetrical sothat a smooth horizontal surface is formed whether the vertical platesof the various'members extend upward or downward from the horizontalplate. Upward extending vertical plates form the back of an article offurniture and the downward extending plates'form the legs of an articleof furniture. The structural elements are provided with laterallyextending holes through which members, such as threaded bolts, arepassed to retain a plurality of the structural elements into anassembled article of furniture.

A feature and advantage of articles of furniture made according to thepresent invention is that they can be shipped in a disassembled orknocked down condition thereby conserving shipping volume.

Another feature and advantage of the present invention is that a givenset of the structural elements made according to the invention canbeassembled in one of a plurality of configurations according to thetaste and needs of the user of the same. Thus a given set of structuralelements can be used to form a chair on an end table and a greaternumber of elements can be used to form a sofa or a coffee table.

Still another feature and advantage of the invention is that it affordsfunctional and attractive furniture at extremely low cost because most,if not all, of the elements used to form the various articles areidentical with one another and lend themselves to low cost, massproduction.

The foregoing together with other features, advantages and objects ofthe present invention will be more apparent after referring to thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an L-shaped structural member of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chair formed according to the presentinvention; I

FIG. 3 is an exploded viewof the chair of FIG. 1 showing the elementsthat comprise the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a coffee table, or the like, formedaccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a double chair formed according to theinvention and showing a modification providing arms for the chair.

Referring more particularly to the drawings referenced numeral 12indicates generally an L-shaped structural member according to theinvention that is formed by a horizontal plate 14 and a vertical plate16 which are rigidly joined to one another at an intersection 18. As canbe seen most clearly from FIG. 1, intersection 18 has an outer arcuatesurface 20 and an inner arcuate surface 22 concentric with the outerarcuate surface.

Horizontal leg 14 has a first surface 24 and a second surface 26 whichin the embodiment shown herein are flat, mutually parallel surfaces.Such shape is exemplary of a requipernent that s urfaces24 and26besymmetrica l about an, imaginary plane v2 8 extending through thecenterof the horizontalleg 14in ordenthat a substantially discontinuityfree horizontal surface, is defined irrespective of whether verticallegs l6extend upward or downward. 1

Horizontal leg 14 has two openings 30 and 32 therethrough, the formerbeing adjacent the intersection l8 and the latter being adjacent thefree end of the horizontal plate. Openings 30 and 32 arepreferablycylindrical with their longitudinal axes disposed within plane28 so that when elongate members such as bolts de scribed in more detailhereinafter are extended through two or more of the horizontal plates,the surfaces 24 and/or 26 of the adjacent horizontal plates form asubstantially smooth or discontinuity-free surface. The openings areperpendicular to the side edge surfaces of the L-shaped members so thatsuch edge surfacesare drawn into firm contactvby bolts or rods extendingthrough the openings. If surfaces 24 and 26 are other than flat orplanar each surface must additionally be symmetrical with respect to aline midway between openings 30 and 32.

Vertical leg 16 is provided with two similar openings 34 and 36, theformer being positioned adjacent intersection 18 and the latter beingpositioned adjacent the lower end of the vertical leg. It will be notedfrom FIG. 1 that vertical leg 16 terminates in a flat, floor engagingsurface 38 and that horizontal leg 14 terminates in a rounded surface40. It is preferred that the distance from the center of opening 32 toend surface 40 is approximately equal to the distance from the center ofopening 30 to the inner surface of vertical plate 16;

such relationship has aesthetic value and a functional purpose whichwill be described hereinafter.

For exemplifying a combination of L-shaped members 12, FIGS. 2 and 3show a chair formed of eight such members. Because each individualmember is identical the various members will be referred to as 12a, 12b,12c, etc. L-shaped members 12a and 12b are positioned with theirrespective vertical plates extending downward from opposite ends so asto form the legs on one side of the chair. L-shaped members 12g and 12hare similarly relatively positioned to form the legs on the oppositeside of the chair. The intermediate L- shaped members 12c, 12d, 12a and12f are arranged with their vertical plates extending upward at the rearof the assembly so as to form a back supporting structure. The members12a-12h are retained in the assembled relationshown in FIG. 2 by tworods 42 that pass through openings 30 and 32 in the respectivehorizontal plates of each of the members and by two rods 44 that passthrough the openings 34 and 36 in the respective vertical plates ofmembers 12a-12f. Rods 42 and 44 are threaded at each end, and cup nuts46 threaded onto the protruding threaded ends: of the bolts. The cupnuts are both attractive and present a smooth exterior surface.

A preferred form of chair according to the present invention iscompleted by the addition of spacers 48 on the flat end surfaces 38 ofvertical plate 16 of members 12a and 12h to elevate the front of thechair so that the top of the chair makes an angle of about 3 withhorizontal. Such angle enhances the comfort of the user of the chair.Spacers 48 are fastened to members 12a and 12h by means of screws 50which pass through suitable holes in the spacers and engage verticalplate 16.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing and from FIG. 3 that the partsfor a chair can be efficiently packaged in a relatively flat shippingcontainer thereby reducing both the first cost of a chair and subsequentmoving costs, should the owner of the chair desire to move the chairfrom one location to another. Because the L-shaped members areidentical, assembly of the chair can be achieved by those with little orno manual dexterity and skill.

Although the form of the chair shown in FIG. 2 is quite satisfactory andcomfortable, it is obvious that cushions and/or padding can be added tothe completed structure at the option of the user thereof. If a taperedset cushion is employed, it is feasible to delete spacers 48 in order toachieve the desideratum of providing a sloped seat surface.

A table in the form of a coffee table can be formed as exemplified inFIG. 4 by employing the L-shaped members of the present invention. Thetable in FIG. 4 is formed of 15 identical L-shaped members 12, the L-shaped members being arranged in three groups of five members each. Thefirst group, identified by referenced numeral 52, forms one leg of thetable, a second group 54 forms another leg of the table and a thirdgroup 56 forms a third leg of the table. The 15 L- shaped members areretained in assembled position by relatively long thrOugh bolts or rods58 extending through the openings in the horizontal plates of all theL-shaped members and relatively short bolts or rods 60 which in theembodiment of FIG. 4 extends through the openings in the vertical legsof five juxtaposed L- shaped members of each group.

A final variation which demonstrates the versatility of the presentinvention is depicted in FIG. in which 16 L-shaped members 12 arecombined to form a double chair. Reference numeral 61 indicates therightward most L-shaped member which forms one of the legs and isimmediately adjacent another member 62 which forms the leg on theopposite side of the chair at the right hand end. Next in order is agroup of four L- shaped members 63 which as seen in FIG. 5 are orientedwith their respective vertical legs extending upward thereby forming theback supporting structure for one half of the chair. Next to group 63 isan L-shaped member 64 which is oriented similar to member 62 followingwhich is a member 65 which is oriented the same as element 61.Proceeding leftward as seen in FIG. 5, a member 66 forms a legcorresponding in position to that formed by element 62 and a member 67has its vertical plate on the same side of the article of furniture asthe vertical plate of member 65. Continuing still further leftward inthe figure, a group of four L-shaped members 68 is positioned as shownwith the vertical plates extending upward in position on the oppositeside of the chair from the vertical plates of the group of membersidentified by reference numeral 63. Finally, an L-shaped member 69having its vertical plate on the same side of the chair as the verticalplate of member 61 and an oppositely positioned member 70 are provided.Members 69 and 70 are positioned with the vertical plates extendingdownward to define the legs for lefthand end of the structure. The 16L-shaped members are retained in assembled condition by bolts or rods 72which pass through the openings in all the horizontal plates of themembers. Relatively shorter rods or bolts 73 retain the vertical platesof groups 63 and 68 in a rigid, assembled condition.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the present invention which providesL-shaped elements compatible with but somewhat different from theL-shaped members 12 herefore described. Such L-shaped element isdesignated by referenced numeral 74 and includes a vertical plate 76that is longer than vertical plate 16 of L- shaped member 12. The lowerportion of vertical plate 76 is substantially identical to plate 16 inthat the shape of plate 76 is similar to shape of vertical leg 16 andplate 76 is provided with openings that register with openings 34 and 36on vertical plate 16. Accordingly, element 74 is bolted to the side ofthe assembled structure by bolts that are engaged with nuts 78 whichnuts are shown in FIG. 5.

Element 74 includes a horizontal plate 80 that, because of the length ofvertical plate 76, is spaced above the top surface of the chair definedby the respective surfaces 24 and 26 or horizontal member 14. Horizontallegs 80 are provided with two or more openings 82 which are sopositioned that the two centrally located elements can be boltedtogether as at 84. It will be noted from FIG. 5 that elements 74 havethe same width as L-shaped members 12 so that they interfit with oneanother (see e.g. 76 the vertical leg of centrally located element whichfits between and is fastened to the vertical plates of L-shaped members65 and 67).

It will be appreciated from FIG. 5 that termination of end 40 ofhorizontal plate in alignment with the inner surface of vertical plate16 affords clearance for the vertical plate of L-shaped element 74 tofit properly to form the arm support for the chair.

An alternative structure to that shown in FIG. 5 is a sofa which is madeby reversing the group of L-shaped members designated by referencenumeral 68 so that they are on the same side of the structure as thegroup of members identified by reference numeral 63. Such structure canbe made with or without an arm formed by L-shaped element 74 in thecenter. The specific configuration for articles of furniture isextensive and only several examples have been given herein for thepurpose of illustrating the invention.

The width of the L-shaped members is determined by both aesthetic andstrength requirements. Because the members are identical because theyare placed in juxtaposition during fabrication of a furniture piece, thewidth is not critical since two members can be combined to form anelement having a width equal to that shown in the drawings. Althougheconomy of production dictates that all elements be of the same width,such condition is not essential since additional versatility can beachieved by combining L-shaped members of relatively narrow width withL-shaped members of relatively wide width.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed it will be obvious that other adaptations and modificationscan be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising agenerally L-shaped memberformed by a horizontal plate and a vertical plate, each said platehaving an inner end and an outer end and being rigidly joined atrespective inner ends in generally perpendicular relation, saidhorizontal plate having upper and lower surfaces that are symmetrical ofa plane centrally of said horizontal leg, said horizontal leg havingopposed parallel edge faces generally normal to the extending betweensaid surfaces so that plural said horizontal legs can be placed injuxtaposition to form a substantially continuous surface, there being atleasttwo openings through said horizontal plate, said openings beingsymmetrical of the mid region of said horizontal leg and elongate alonga central axis lying in said central plane and terminating in said facesso that a plurality of said members can be fastened together to form anarticle of furniture by aligning the openings in said horizontal plateof each said member, irrespective of whether the vertical legs extendupward or downward and whether the inner end of the horizontal plate ofone said member is aligned with the inner or outer end of the horizontalplate of the adjacent member.

2. The article definedby claim 1 wherein said vertical leg includes atleast one opening therethrough, said opening being elongate along anaxis parallel to the axis of elongation of the openings in saidhorizontal leg.

3. The article defined by claim 1 wherein said vertical leg is curved sothat the outer and thereof extends beyond the inner and thereof in adirection parallel to the plane of symmetry of said horizontal leg.

4. The article defined by claim 1 in combination with a plurality ofidentical said members, there being at least three said members orientedsuch that the vertical plates extend downward, all said members beingaligned in lateral juxtaposition so that said openings align with oneanother, and tension elements extending through said aligned openingsfor retaining said members in assembled condition, thereby forming anarticle of furniture in which said downward extending members constitutethe legs of said article of furniture.

5. The article defined by claim 4 wherein the vertical legs of saidmember are formed with at least two spaced apart openings therethroughin combination with first and second generally L-shaped elements eachhaving a vertical plate and a horizontal plate rigidly attached to saidvertical plate, the vertical plate of said element being formed withopenings therethrough that are positioned so that the horizontal platesof said element are parallelly spaced above the horizontal plates ofsaid generally L-shaped members when lastsaid openings register with theopenings in said vertical plate of said generally L-shaped members, andmeans extending through the registered openings for retaining thevertical legs of said elements to the vertical legs .of said'generallyL-shaped members so that the horizontal plates of said L-shaped elementsform arm rests.

6. An article of furniture comprising in combination a plurality ofidentical generally L-shaped members each of which is formed by ahorizontal plate and a vertical plate, each said plate having an innerend and an outer end and being rigidly joined at respective inner endsin generally perpendicular relation, said horizontal plate having upperand lower surfaces that are symmetrical of a plane centrally of saidhorizontal leg, said horizontal leg having opposed parallel edge facesgenerally normal to and extending between said surfaces, there being atleast two openings through said horizontal plate, said openings beingsymmetrical of the midregion of said horizontal leg and elongate along acentral axis lying in said central plane and terminating in said faces,a first pair of said L-shaped members being oriented with respectivehorizontal plates juxtaposed so that the respective vertical platesdepend from opposite ends of the first juxtaposed pair to define onepair of legs for the article of furniture, a second pair of said L-shaped members being oriented with respective horizontal platesjuxtaposed so that the respective vertical plates depend from oppositeends of the second juxtaposed pair to define another pair of legs forthe article of furniture, the remainder of said plurality of said Lshaped members disposed between said first and second pairs, saidremainder of L-shaped members being oriented with the horizontal platesthereof in juxtaposition to the horizontal plates of said first andsecond pair, the vertical plates of said remainder extending upward todefine the back of the article of furniture, and means extending throughsaid openings for retaining said members in juxtaposed assembly.

1. An article of manufacture comprising a generally L-shaped memberformed by a horizontal plate and a vertical plate, each said platehaving an inner end and an outer end and being rigidly joined atrespective inner ends in generally perpendicular relation, saidhorizontal plate having upper and lower surfaces that are symmetrical ofa plane centrally of said horizontal leg, said horizontal leg havingopposed parallel edge faces generally normal to and extending betweensaid surfaces so that plural said horizontal legs can be placed injuxtaposition to form a substantially continuous surface, there being atleast two openings through said horizontal plate, said openings beingsymmetrical of the mid-region of said horizontal leg and elongate alonga central axis lying in said central plane and terminating in said facesso that a plurality of said members can be fastened together to form anarticle of furniture by aligning the openings in said horizontal plateof each said member, irrespective of whether the vertical legs extendupward or downward and whether the inner end of the horizontal plate ofone said member is aligned with the inner or outer end of the horizontalplate of the adjacent member.
 2. The article defined by claim 1 whereinsaid vertical leg includes at least one opening therethrough, saidopening being elongate along an axis parallel to the axis of elongationof the openings in said horizontal leg.
 3. The article defined by claim1 wherein said vertical leg is curved so that the outer end thereofextends beyond the inner end thereof in a direction parallel to theplane of Symmetry of said horizontal leg.
 4. The article defined byclaim 1 in combination with a plurality of identical said members, therebeing at least three said members oriented such that the vertical platesextend downward, all said members being aligned in lateral juxtapositionso that said openings align with one another, and tension elementsextending through said aligned openings for retaining said members inassembled condition, thereby forming an article of furniture in whichsaid downward extending members constitute the legs of said article offurniture.
 5. The article defined by claim 4 wherein the vertical legsof said member are formed with at least two spaced apart openingstherethrough in combination with first and second generally L-shapedelements each having a vertical plate and a horizontal plate rigidlyattached to said vertical plate, the vertical plate of said elementbeing formed with openings therethrough that are positioned so that thehorizontal plates of said element are parallelly spaced above thehorizontal plates of said generally L-shaped members when last saidopenings register with the openings in said vertical plate of saidgenerally L-shaped members, and means extending through the registeredopenings for retaining the vertical legs of said elements to thevertical legs of said generally L-shaped members so that the horizontalplates of said L-shaped elements form arm rests.
 6. An article offurniture comprising in combination a plurality of identical generallyL-shaped members each of which is formed by a horizontal plate and avertical plate, each said plate having an inner end and an outer end andbeing rigidly joined at respective inner ends in generally perpendicularrelation, said horizontal plate having upper and lower surfaces that aresymmetrical of a plane centrally of said horizontal leg, said horizontalleg having opposed parallel edge faces generally normal to and extendingbetween said surfaces, there being at least two openings through saidhorizontal plate, said openings being symmetrical of the mid-region ofsaid horizontal leg and elongate along a central axis lying in saidcentral plane and terminating in said faces, a first pair of saidL-shaped members being oriented with respective horizontal platesjuxtaposed so that the respective vertical plates depend from oppositeends of the first juxtaposed pair to define one pair of legs for thearticle of furniture, a second pair of said L-shaped members beingoriented with respective horizontal plates juxtaposed so that therespective vertical plates depend from opposite ends of the secondjuxtaposed pair to define another pair of legs for the article offurniture, the remainder of said plurality of said L-shaped membersdisposed between said first and second pairs, said remainder of L-shapedmembers being oriented with the horizontal plates thereof injuxtaposition to the horizontal plates of said first and second pair,the vertical plates of said remainder extending upward to define theback of the article of furniture, and means extending through saidopenings for retaining said members in juxtaposed assembly.